Football Preview: Cook County Vikings vs. North Woods grizzlies
After three games on the road, Cook County is heading back home. They will welcome the North Woods grizzlies at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Cook County's defense heads into the game hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They claimed a resounding 47-0 victory over Kelliher/Northome on the road. Considering the Vikings have won four matchups by more than 26 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
A big part of Cook County's win came down to the chemistry between Hunter Rex and his top target Macoy Fairbanks. Rex threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns on only 15 passes while Fairbanks picked up 106 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Rex has become a key player for Cook County: the team is undefeated when he posts at least three passing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise. Jordan Backstrom made the highlight reel by snagging an interception and taking it all the way to the house.
Cook County didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Backstrom, Fairbanks, and Rohan Rude picked up one apiece. Rude is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made five or more in the last seven games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in Kelliher/Northome's side was Devan Rude, who forced a fumble, made 25 total tackles (3.0 for loss), and defended a pass.
Meanwhile, after only 12 points in their last match, North Woods made sure to put some points up on the board against Bigfork on Friday. North Woods simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Bigfork 54-6 on the road.
Cook County pushed their record up to 4-3 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. As for North Woods, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a massive bump to their 3-4 record this season.
Everything came up roses for Cook County against North Woods when the teams last played back in October of 2023, as the team secured a 50-0 win. Does Cook County have another victory up their sleeve, or will North Woods turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
